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User blog:John Pan/Linemen
Linemen The backbone of the IPC. Expendable and inexpensive yet versatile, Linemen squads are mostly constituted of wartime conscripts. IPC wartime conscripts are loosely sifted through by the Ministry of Defense, given a month in boot camp undergoing physical and marksmanship training, and then sent straight into the meat grinder. Squad Composition *Squad Leader *Rifleman *Rifleman *Rifleman *Rifleman *Rifleman/ RPG Operator Sensory Eyes and ears. Veteran Squad Leaders (typically a Sergeant) get HMDs that informs them with real-time battle intelligence, displaying friendlies and known enemies on a small tactical map. A North Star “北斗星” friendly-tracker is standard. Upgrades None. Armament Type 401 (6) When the IPC went for armament unification, they needed to quickly arm the world's largest standing army with their new standard issue. This resulted in Norinco developing their first post-PRC rifle, the Type 401. The weapon is essentially a redesigned QBZ-95 assault rifle chambered for the new 8mm x 42mm round, without sacrificing reliability and durability in the process. This has turned it into the 21st century AK—rugged, cheap, and packing a punch. The weapon only has ironsights. China alone produces over 20,000 rifles per day. Field Defenses The following are field defenses Linemen can construct on their own. *Sandbag Wall—a pile of 36cm by 66cm sandbags, laid two sandbags deep and twelve sandbags high. This provides infantry with a makeshift wall capable of effectively dissipating the blast of HE, and is just thick enough to block small arms fire. *Dugout Foxhole—a small 1.5m deep cross-shaped pit complete with a grenade sump to minimize frag damage. Commonly referred to as the “Lineman grave.” Has enough space to squeeze in a single 6-man squad of infantry. Upgrades Increased Ammunition Allocation To make Linemen more accurate, they can receive ten times the original number of rifle rounds for Marksmanship training back in boot camp. Type 702 RPG (1) To provide Linemen with basic anti-tank firepower, they can get the Type 702 RPG. HEAT warheads' penetrating power increases greatly with increase in warhead diameter, but large-diameter warheads normally need big, heavy tubes to fire them. To solve this, the IPC went along with a supra-caliber design, with a 60mm launching tube and a 130mm tandem-HEAT warhead. The weapon can tear through 750mm of RHAe after ERA, making it very potent against armored vehicles. Protection Linemen get the Iron Skin I ballistic suit, protecting them from shrapnel (the number 1 killer of infantry in conventional warfare) and 9mm pistol rounds. Their helmets are also made of inexpensive Steel (with an optional Styrofoam inner liner), only able to stop shrapnel. However, they are effective at holding water and conducting heat, and hence, being used as a makeshift pot. Upgrades Armor Inserts To allow Linemen to survive rifle fire, they can get 5 kilos worth of ceramic plating backed by non-Newtonian foam, allowing it to stop 7.62mm rounds. Their helmets get ceramic plates and Kevlar wrapping, raising protection to Type III, but makes them unsuitable for cooking. Mobility Linemen march on their feet. They get mechanization, but when it's not available (i.e. because they are too many), they are still capable of marching for kilometers on end. Upgrades Extended PT Sessions To make Linemen more mobile, they can receive extra Physical Training back in boot camp. Category:Blog posts